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Turei 26 Mei
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Talofa
As we enter into winter it is relevant that we look at Maramataka, the Māori calendar. In te ao Māori (the Māori world), winter—known as Takurua or Hōtoke—is a sacred period of rest, introspection, and alignment with the lunar cycle (maramataka). Instead of pushing against the cold, winter traditions focus on letting the earth replenish, gathering around the fire to share stories, and observing the stars.
Pipiri (Late May – June): Marked by the rise of the Matariki (Pleiades) cluster, signalling the start of the Māori New Year. It is traditionally a time to gather by the fire, share history, and reflect on the past year.
Our new strategic plan will be shared with our community at Matariki, marking our next steps forward. A final date will be set for this (as Matariki occurs during the school break), once we have all the feedback gathered.
Contents:
What are they learning?
Attendance
Transparent Partnerships: Awhinatia
Reporting
Vision in Action
Sport
Dates to Diary
“What are They Learning?"
“What are They Learning?"
We have started electives again. What a plethora of options that tamariki have, from choir to biology, to science to art and everything in between.
Have a kōrero with your tamaiti and see what they have been learning today.
Attendance
As part of government priorities, there is a focus on attendance and on reaching the expected 80% attending for 90% of the time. This is to support optimum learning for all ākonga.
If ākonga (learners) have been absent for five days in a term, it is marked as an early concern, and you will usually be sent a letter on HERO, a phone call, or a catch-up to let you know. If ākonga have been absent for 10 days, a letter is sent home through HERO, and a conversation is arranged with you. If absences continue for up to 15 days in a term, a meeting is called with you, and we devise a plan for attendance improvement. If tamaiti are absent for more than 15 days, then we need to call Attendance Services for support.
We understand there are often extenuating circumstances, and usually whānau let us know so we don't need to send letters or schedule meetings.
Transparent Learning Partnerships: Awhinatia - Consistency
Our aim is to make our approaches more visible and ensure whānau feel informed and confident about how learning happens at Lyall Bay School. We hope these regular updates provide clarity and answer questions before they arise.
This week, you can read about how we are working to achieve consistency across hubs. We are very conscious that our tamariki are not 'sausages in a factory' and neither are our kaiako, but there needs to be some consistency in certain areas.
If there are topics you would like explained further, please let us know — your voice continues to guide our improvement.
Reporting (from the Ministry of Education)
Reporting in 2026 and 2027
'The Ministry has provided new reporting guidelines to align with the revised New Zealand Curriculum.
To report student progress against the new curriculum, schools will explain progress using five progress levels –emerging, developing, consolidating, proficient and exceeding.
Schools will start using the new reporting components during 2026, so you may not see all the changes in your child’s report until next year.
For more information, see Reporting to Parents and Whānau on the Ministry’s Parent Portal.'
We will continue with the four descriptors that we used last year for this coming academic report. Our kaiako want to be completely confident when using the new descriptors, so we will stay with what we started with last year. This also means you can be confident in seeing the progress your tamariki have made.
Parent Portal survey
The Ministry of Education is inviting schools and kura to support improvements to the Parent Portal by sharing a short survey with their communities. We encourage you to share this quick survey with whānau, parents and caregivers. It only takes a few minutes and will help shape future updates. The survey closes on 20 June.
Our Vision in Action
Our Vision in Action
At the heart of everything we do is our school vision:
Waihangatia ngā Ākonga Tino Pai – Building the Best Learners.
At Lyall Bay School, we are committed to being a place where every child and adult feels safe, respected, and valued. This sits at the heart of our values of Manaaki, Whakapono, Hiranga, and Pākiki, and our shared expectations to Be a Learner, Be Respectful, and Be Responsible.
We have been seeing and hearing about how our tamariki enact these in a range of situations. There have been a few sporting events this term, within school, interschool, and weekly sports. I heard at netball last weekend how our teams play with enthusiasm and sportsmanship. After Eastern Zone sports, there was talk of how our tamariki showed manaaki toward other teams. Our tamariki were so strong showing whakapono at our school cross country, cheering everyone, and some ākonga who stopped their race to support others. Ka pai to mahi.
Sport
Eastern Zone Cross Country
Lyall Bay School was strongly represented by 41 runners at the recent Eastern Zone Cross Country competition held at Scots College. Our value of Hiranga (excellence) was on display as all runners gave their very best.
We are delighted to share that the following students have qualified to represent the Eastern Zone at the Inter-Zone Cross Country competition on Tuesday, 9 June. Ka pai, tamariki – and all the best!
Year 4
Boys – Eli Cooper – 2nd
Girls – Natey Gumbley – 3rd
Girls – Lottie Buddle – 14th
Year 5
Boys – Jacob Gumbley – 10th
Year 6
Boys – Xavier De Bes-Holmes – 6th
Girls – Liv Roche – 7th
A big thank you to our amazing parents who led the Running Club. This was a hugely popular opportunity for our students, and we look forward to getting it underway earlier next year. Ngā mihi!
Swim Trials
Last week, a group of ākonga took part in our Swim Trials at the WRAC. It was wonderful to see so many of our tamariki demonstrating hiranga as they challenged themselves to swim their fastest. Unfortunately, we were unable to take any photos at this event due to the rules in place by the WRAC.
Thank you to the staff and parents who assisted in making this event run smoothly!
We will use the results to help determine our swim team for the Eastern Zone Swimming Competition being held in September. Information for this will be sent out next term to whānau who have tamariki competing.
The top two time place getters are listed below:
Year 6 Girls Year 6 Boys
25m Freestyle - Thea and Annabelle Baraa and Joe
25m Backstroke - Annabelle and Leila Joe
25m Breaststroke - Aurian and Poppy H Baraa and Joe
25m Butterfly - Florence H and Bailey Joe
50m Freestyle - Aurian and Annabelle Baraa and Joe
Year 5 Girls Year 5 Boys
25m Freestyle - India and Kaia Avery and Jacob
25m Backstroke - India Denim and Avery
25m Breaststroke - India Denim and Jacob
50m Freestyle - India Avery and Jacob
Year 4 Girls Year 4 Boys
25m Freestyle - Indie and Eleanor Eli and Immanuel
25m Backstroke - Indie and Eleanor Eli and Immanuel
25m Breaststroke - Eleanor Eli
50m Freestyle - Indie and Eleanor Eli and Sammy
Congratulations to you all!
Dates to Diary
Dates to Diary
Mon 1 June: King's Birthday (Public Holiday - School Closed)
Tue 2 June: Teacher Only Day (School Closed)
Mon 8 June: Board Meeting - 6 pm - all welcome
Tue 9 June: Interzone Cross Country
Thur 11 June: Eastern Zone Miniball
Fri 12 June: Hearing and Vision testing
Wed 17 June: Wellington Saints visit
Mon 22 June: Academic Reports on HERO
Thur 25 June: Young Ocean Explorers trip (Onepū roopu)
Mon 29 June: Academic Progress Report on HERO
Tue 30 June: Cross Country Regionals
Fri 3 July: Last day term 2
Mon 20 July: First day term 3
Dental Van arrives
Weds 22 July: School Photo Day
Thur 23 July: School Photo Day
Fri 7 Aug: Teacher Only Day - Maths (school closed)
Wed 12 Aug: EZ Netball (Year 5 & 6)
Fri 14 Aug: Dental Van leaves
Community Notices
Welcome to:
Ariana, Manveer, Remy M, Lola, Devanshi, Pearl, Liv, Aira, Kehlani, Jacob, Arlo, Suhani, Remy R, Misty-Blue, Katerina and Mia, who have all started this term.
We know your time at Lyall Bay School will be the Best!
Lunches at School:
If you would like to order lunch to be delivered to your child at school, this year we are offering Subway Mondays, Vietnameezy Wednesdays, Sushi Fridays and Oat Cafe lunches on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Go to the School Shop (Kindo) on our website, www.lyallbay.school.nz and set up an account. Lunches need to be ordered before 9.00am on the morning of delivery or you can order for a whole term in advance. Please make sure you use the correct name and class for your child!
We have noticed we are very limited in our loose parts supplies in Hauraki, and we would love to refresh and add to our supplies, so that all our tamariki can access the complex construction and learning that is currently happening.
We would love donations of:
Pallets (can often be collected for free from Bunnings, Placemakers, Mitre 10 and industrial areas)
Milk Crates
Bread Crates
Planks of Wood/ Board (1m - 1.5m)
Sturdy Buckets (e.g. Bunnings or Resene Paint Buckets)
Offcuts of Particle Board, Plywood, or OSB
Sandpaper (to smooth the edges of wood/ pellets)
You can drop all donations off in Hauraki or to the library deck, and we will gratefully add them to our collection!
Have your say on the future of Freyberg Street
You’ll be familiar with the changes outside Lyall Bay School over the past couple of years, introduced as part of a trial to improve safety for tamariki and whānau getting to and from school.
Wellington City Council (WCC) is now seeking feedback on whether the Freyberg Street trial should be made permanent. This is your opportunity to let WCC know what you think about the changes.
We encourage you to share your experience of how the changes have affected travel to and from school, safety at drop-off and pick-up, or movement through the neighbourhood.
Submissions are open from 9am Thursday 14th May till 9am Thursday 11th June.
Find out more and have your say: transportprojects.org.nz/freyberg-street
The Nourish Trust - Know-It-All Quiz Night:
📍 Speight's Ale House, Petone
📅 Thursday 4 June
⏰ Quiz kicks off at 7pm sharp
Gather a team of 4–8 people from your school community, friends or whānau and come along for a fun night out supporting local families.
Flying solo? No worries - people can also register individually and be added to a team.
🎟 $20pp for quiz entry
OR
🎟 $30pp for entry + 3 raffle tickets
There are some pretty awesome raffle prizes up for grabs, including golf rounds, vouchers, a hamper of grocery items and more.
If you think your school community might enjoy this, we'd be so grateful if you could help us spread the word.
To lock in a spot, email:
📩 jobraddockkiwi@gmail.com
BigAir Gymsports:
Bigair Gymsports is offering FREE TRIAL classes for a limited time for new members across gymnastics, free running, trampolining, tumbling, and cheerleading. Give your child the opportunity to learn new skills, build confidence, and stay active in a fun, supportive environment. Bigair Gym classes help children build resilience, coordination, strength, fitness, and social skills, while encouraging independence, achievement, passion, and self-pride through mastering new skills. Whether new to gym or just starting out, we offer classes for all ages and abilities, with programmes designed as a 10-level progressive system for children to develop and master skills step by step.
FREE TRIALS are a great way to try a new class and see if it’s the right fit. Contact us now to book your FREE TRIAL.
Bigair Gym Wellington – wgtn@bigairgym.co.nz – 14 Landfill Road, Owhiro Bay
Bigair Gymsports Kapiti – kapiti@bigairgym.co.nz – 4 Manchester Street, Kapiti
Bigair Gym Tawa – office@bigairgym.co.nz – 10B Surrey Street, Tawa
Experience Year 7 at St Mark's:
Experience Year 7 - Thursday, 18 June: 4:00pm – 5:30pm
A dedicated session for Year 6 students to explore what life is like at St Mark’s in Year 7. We look forward to welcoming you.
Piano Lessons at School:
I jointly run a registered music teaching company called Leit House Music, which has grown to over 80 students across five schools since October last year. Our focus is ensuring that lessons run smoothly and consistently while fostering a lasting passion for learning music among our students.
I hold a BMus degree in composition, film music and classical piano performance, and have over five years of teaching experience. I have taught at schools including EBIS, St Benedict’s, Onslow, Amesbury, Seatoun, and Newtown, as well as at two community house centres.
Lessons are carefully tailored to each student's age, skill level, interests, and learning style. Students also have the opportunity to learn how to compose music for film, trailer, and game clips, which many students find especially engaging.
Contact Jack if you are interested in music lessons at leithousemusic@gmail.com
JAM Music School:
JAM Music School offers piano🎹, saxophone🎷 and violin🎻 lessons! Now's the perfect time to learn the music you’ve always wanted to play. Whatever style, whether it’s classical, jazz, or pop, our experienced & qualified teachers will help you reach your goal while having fun along the way! We teach students both theory and practical skills, and we also offer opportunities to experience performing in front of others throughout the year.
We are now taking enrolments for Term 2. All ages welcome! Contact us by emailing info.jamms@gmail.com to reserve your spot today or to find out more!
See the Harlem Globetrotters:
The NBL, in partnership with Lyall Bay School, have partnered for a unique fundraising opportunity. If you use the code GLOBETROTTERS95 when purchasing tickets to the Harlem Globetrotters at Wellington - TSB Arena - 16th July, you will be raising funds for Lyall Bay School! For each ticket purchased using the codeword - our school will receive 10% of each ticket sold.
Get your tickets now - it’s The 100 Year Tour and not something you’re going to want to miss. See you there!"
Ticketmaster
TSB Arena: https://www.ticketmaster.co.nz/event/24006384D72F3A32?did=specialoffer
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